slices June 9th, 2007
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So, you’re looking for your favorite music lyrics on the Internet, eh? Then I suggest you just type a portion of the lyrics in commas within google, and that should do the trick. However, if you’re looking for something extra, or just something out of the ordinary, then you should go and check AmIRight.com. This is a hugely popular website comprised of song and album cover parodies, discussion over misheard lyrics and …. well, suffice to say that among a host of disparate sections, there’s even space for some *actual* lyrics.
AmIRight is a community based website, meaning that visitors are encouraged to create content. During the 7 years of its online existence, the website has amassed such a huge quantity of submissions and categories (such as “stupid band names”, “impossible song titles” and “better off solo”), that you’re very likely to find something that will make you smile, entertain you or at least distract you. So if you’re a music fan looking for a time killer, this might just be it. Go ahead!
You may also want to check out the sister site AmIwrong, which is comprised exclusively of music quizzes: “Where Pop Culture meets its match.”
Popularity: 1% [?]
slices June 8th, 2007
This is not really a game, it’s more like a scientific experiment. Nonetheless, it’s pretty cool to look at. I can barely grasp the underlying technicality behind this cool gadget, but you’re into that you can allways read the official transcript:
Game of Life is a cellular automaton and is run by placing a number of filled cells (alive cells) on a two-dimensional grid. Each generation then switches cells on or off depending on the state of the cells that surround it. The rules are simple and defined as follows. All eight of the cells surrounding the current one are checked to see if they are on or not. Any cells that are on are counted, and this count is then used to determine what will happen to the current cell.
1. Death: if the count is less than 2 or greater than 3, the current cell is switched off.
2. Survival: if (a) the count is exactly 2, or (b) the count is exactly 3 and the current cell is on, the current cell is left unchanged.
3. Birth: if the current cell is off and the count is exactly 3, the current cell is switched on.
What you *should* know to get you started is that this is a sort of life simulator, which tries to mimick the ways cell patterns unfold, as life manifests. Just try playing around with it for a while… try copying the images on the right sidebar, or come up with your own… go crazy! I wonder if it’s possible to make a form that would eventually turn all the dots green. Also, I wonder if there’s something like this with a larger grid… and perhaps several colors. I’m positive that would make a really cool desktop!
For a simple cool effect, just make a 3×3 square! Use your imagination and you’ll have fun.
For technical in-depth information on the Cellular Automaton, check out the wikipedia article.
Popularity: 1% [?]
slices June 7th, 2007
The California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture (Cal-Earth), is a leading research institute founded by the influential architect Nader Khalili in 1986. This organization focuses on creating innovative buildings, both for tackling the third world housing countries, to create emergency shelters, or even coming up with technical innovations for NASA lunar base constructions:
“Cal-Earth is a non-profit foundation dedicated to research and education of the public in environmentally oriented arts and architecture. It’s philosophy is based on the equilibrium of the natural elements of earth, water, air, and fire, and their Unity at the service of the arts and humanity.”
Not only do they profess a commendable philosophy, further this amazing foundation has come up with some exquisite designs (somewhat reminiscent of the Hobbit’s cottages, I say), that may just provide a good, ecological housing alternative in the near future. For more information and pictures, check the official website here.
Popularity: 1% [?]
slices June 6th, 2007
The highly anticipated Apple IPhone is scheduled for North American release in the 29th of June. I wonder if there’s someone out there who hasn’t heard of this much hyped up gadget, which aims provide us with a true palmtop multimedia swiss-knife experience. As far as I can tell, the IPhone is pretty much the IPod evolved, and chances are it will be just as successfull, due to its versatility and cool design. This device can be used for all your mobile communications needs, including internet and e-mail; furthermore, it has a 2.0Mpixel camera, and it can also be used as an Ipod-like multimedia player.
“iPhone combines three amazing products — a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, maps, and searching — into one small and lightweight handheld device. iPhone also introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting you control everything with just your fingers. So it ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, completely redefining what you can do on a mobile phone. ”
For more information, visit the official website.
If you’re into dis-information and real fun, then you should check out this compendium of IPhone mock-ups.
Popularity: 2% [?]
slices June 5th, 2007
Ever dreamed of owning your own personal *carnivore* plant? Well, dream no more, for the day has come where your wicked vegetable fantasies come true! I just stumbled across this website that allegedly sells diffrent breeds of these wonderful critters which are forever trapped in the limbo between the vegetable and the animal king.
”My Carnivore is your perfect pet! These insect-eating plants are a wonder of nature that are now tamed for you! Get your pet today and enjoy years of feeding, growing, and fun with your personalized friend. Each pet has its own special traps to help it catch bugs! You will be amazed and how well they eat flies and at how great they look anywhere! ”
They really make it sound like it’s the greatest thing since… well, the sea monkeys, i guess, or ant farms! I’m not really into the whole hyped-up conteptual marketing gimmick for kids; however this sure sounds like a cool present. If I get myself one of these, I promise I’ll write a follow-up slice telling you all about it, yes?
Popularity: 2% [?]
slices June 4th, 2007
Trust me… life, by definition is outright meaningless. Once we get to the bottom line, that’s just how it goes; if you don’t believe me, look at all the hopelessly bored people filling up all the space around you. The very question of whether life has meaning has become such a hopelessly boring cliche that oftentimes I wonder if there is a single person out there who seriously contemplates this (quite) legitimate issue: nowadays, it looks as tough most people just want to get going, make huge money money with little trouble, and comply with the institutionalized social standards, so they feel accommodated. Yet, accommodation will hardly ever be the same as genuine meaning.
Let’s face it: people only search for meaning when they lack meaning. Yet, most people who engage such quest invariably end up chasing their own tails, like a crazy rabid dog. Is there a solution out of this spiral of everwinding induction that takes you nowhere you want to be?
There is a simple reason people who look for meaning outside of their-selves are either destined to failure or foolery: it’s plainly because in and of itself, life really has no meaning… at all. Life is being alive, and that’s all there is to it. It is us, ourselves, who are the single true semiotic agents of our own life and demise, of our own triumph and tragedies. Even though we may think otherwise, we are the bottom line, when it comes to meaning. So next time you crave for meaning in life, don’t just look around for it… make it yourself! Set your destiny! Decide what you want to be! Decide what you believe in! Choose life… and get on with it. Choose substance over form, or just go with the norm… it’s up to you, and you alone.
Popularity: 1% [?]
slices June 3rd, 2007
So, you where one of those people who spent highschool perfecting his aircraft design abilities through folding papers, eh? Then, you should rejoice, for the suggestion of the day (or should I say the slice of the day) is dedicated to your procrastinating memories of youthfull bliss.
Within “10 paper airplanes” website, you’ll have access to detailed folding intructions to create some of the most popular paper airplane designs available, such as “the diver”, “the ring”, “the stealth”, “the spinster”, and several more. So, if you want to put all of that paper you’ve got laying around to good use (before recycling it, of course), now you know where to start. Enjoy yourself, and fly safely!
(disclaimer: Try not to poke anyone in the eye, otherwise I won’t be held responsible.)
Popularity: 1% [?]
slices June 2nd, 2007
Owned by Altavista, the Babelfish project is one of the most reputable on-line translators available. Within this website, you have access to a powerfull tool which allows translating to/from several languages, including: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
While this is not a 100% reliable translator, it’s pretty much the best available option, when it comes to automatic translations. Furthermore, it’s sufficiently accurate to make some sense out of foreign language webpages. Give it a try and see for yourself! You can either translate a block of text or submit an entire webpage: Babelfish online translator.
Popularity: 1% [?]
slices June 1st, 2007
Quite often, I think the main reason why the world is such a messed-up place is none other than inheritance. Not all of us are accustomed to watching their parental figures set a good example; many of us were negatively influenced with nasty habits, foul mannerisms and reckless behaviours: that’s just the way things are. I watched a nice institutional advertisement makes a good point out of this, by illustrating the ways children tend to mimic their parents, quite often unnoticed.
This video got me thinkingonce again… maybe the opposite could also be true? If parents realized how they can change the world by merely changing their own ways and educating their children differently, do you suppose the world would be a better place? Do you think awareness can be as infectious as unconsciousness?
Popularity: 1% [?]